Organizers of HayEast 2012 thanked CN and Canadian Pacific CP for cash donations in March.
According to a HayEast press release, the additional funds from these two industry partners were committed prior to the Feb. 28 deadline and will qualify for matched donations by the Governments of Canada and Ontario (on a cost-shared basis).
"Canadian Pacific and CN have worked with us from day one to help us co-ordinate logistics and now they have provided us with much-needed funds exactly when we need them," said Lynn Jacobson, president of the Wild Rose Agricultural Producers from Alberta. "Along with the recent commitment of $150,000 in transportation funding from the Province of Ontario, this money will ensure that Hay East 2012 can continue to deliver hay from the Prairies to the drought stricken regions of Ontario until pastures open in the spring."
The Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan and WRAP in Alberta will continue to work with prairie farmers and ranchers who are willing to donate hay to their eastern counterparts, the release states.
Private cash donations can still be made to HayEast 2012 at any Scotiabank branch across Canada or by visiting www.hayeast2012.ca. For more information, call 1-855-HAY-2102.
"We have farmers in need in Ontario and we have funds necessary to continue to help them," said Norm Hall, APAS president and HayEast 2012 champion in Saskatchewan. "Now our goal is to find and ship as much hay as we can, especially here in Saskatchewan where we have negotiated excellent hauling rates back to Ontario."
All corporate and private donations and the new funding received will cover administration and transportation costs, providing available out-of-province hay to where it is needed most - to Ontario farmers affected by the summer 2012 drought. Many Ontario farmers are still in need of hay for their livestock, and the need will continue until pastures and the 2013 hay crop becomes available.
HayEast 2012 is a partnership involving farm organizations across Canada. The program is a follow-up to the HayWest program that saw thousands of eastern Canadian farmers send forages to Western Canada in 2002 to help alleviate the effects of that region's drought.
